Beltless and chainless drive grain-elevator.



No. 851,315. PA'IBNTED APR. 23, 1907.

I W. POLIS. BELTLESS AND CHAINLESS DRIVE GRAIN ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1907.

WILLIAM POLIS, OF MCVILLE, NORTH DAKOTA BELTLESS AND CHAINLESS DRIVE GRAIN-ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application filed January l0, 1907. Serial No. 351,663.

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, VILLIAM Poms, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at McVille, in the county of Nelson and State of North Dakota, have invented a new and useful Beltless and Ohainless Drive Grain-Elevator, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a beltless and chainless drive for grain elevators.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of grain elevators, more especially the means for operating the same, and to provide simple and comparatively inexpensive operating means, which will possess great strength and durability and which will not be affected in its operation by the wind.

A further object of the invention is to provide drive mechanism for grain elevators, adapted to be operated with a minimum amount of labor and capable, should the elevator become clogged of enabling the same to be readily started by hand.

l/Vith these and other objects in view, the

u invention consists in. the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

in the drawing :-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a grain elevator provided with drive mechanism, constructed inaccordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, the buckets being removed. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view.

, Like numerals of reference designate eorre .sponding parts in all the figures of the drawmg.

1 designates an elevator casing, composed ef sides 2 and 3, a front wall 4 and a rear wall 5. The bottom of the elevator casing is provided with a forwardly projecting extension 6, which is open at the top and which is adapted to receive the grain to be elevated. The easing is rovded at the top with a rearwardly extending downwardly inclined delivery chute 7, and the material is elevated by an endless carrier consisting of a series of buckets 8 and a sprocket chain 9, which is arranged on central upper and lower sprocket wheels 10 and 11. 'lhe upper sprocket wheel 10 is secured by set screws, or other suitable fastening devices, on a transverse shaft 12, which is liournaled in suitable bearings 13, and the latter are detachably bolted to the sides of the casing at the top of the latter. The lower sprocket wheel 11 is mounted on the inner end of a short shaft 14, j ournaled in a suitable bearing 15 of a bracket or plate 16, and extending from the side 2 of the casing and terminating at the median line of the same. The bracket or plate is bolted, or otherwise secured to the side 2 of the casing, and the upper and lower shafts may be readily detached, when desired.

One end of the upper transverse shaft 12 is connected by bevel gears 17 and. 1S with a longitudinal shaft 19, arranged on the exterior of the casing and spaced from the side 2. The longitudinal shaft is journaled in suitable bearings 19u of the upper and lower brackets 20, and the bevel gear 1S is secured by a set screw, or other suitable fastening device to the upper end of the longitudinal shaft. The lower end of the longitudinal shaft is connected by bevel gears 21 and 22 with an intermediate transverse shaft 23; the bevel gear 21 is secured by a set screw, or other suitable means to the shaft 19, and the gears 18 and 21 are located at and rest upon the upper faces of the upper and lower bearing brackets 2O and support the shaft.

The bevel gear 22 is detachably 'fixed to one end of the transverse shaft, which is journaled in suitable bearings 24 of the bearing bracket 25, and the other end of the shaft 23 carries a pulley 26, which is designed to be connected by a short belt (not shown) with the fan shaft of a separator, or other machine. The bearing brackets 25 are detachably secured to the upper face of a shelf 27, and the latter is secured to the exterior of the front wall 4, the shaft 23 and shelf 27 being located in the space between the front stretch of the endless series ofthe buckets and the easing. The drive gearing is adapted to dispense with the endless sprocket chains and belts usually employed for communicating motion to a grain elevator, the operation of the grain elevator will not be affected by heavy winds, and should the elevator become clogged, it may be readily started by rotating the pulley by hand. Also it will be clear that the endless carrier is driven at the top, and is, thereby, more effective than those, where the power is communicated to the carrier at the lower shaft thereof.

IOO

IIO

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure-by Letters Patent, is :F

1. The combination of a casing provided at its front with a transverse shelf, bearings supported by the shelf, upper and lower transverse shafts, the upper transverse shaft being extended across the casing and the lower one extending from one side and terminating short of the opposite side, sprocket wheels mounted on the transverse shafts, an endless carrier arranged on the sprocket wheels, an intermediate shaft extending across the exterior of the casing and journaled in the bearings of the said shelf, upper and lower bearing brackets mounted on the casing at one side thereof, a longitudinal shaft arranged in the bearings of the said upper and lower brackets, gears connecting the ends of the longitudinal shaft with the upper transverse shaft and the said intermediate shaft and also supporting the longitudinal shaft, and means for communicating motion to the intermediate shaft.

2. The combination of a casing provided at its front with a transverse shelf having bearings, upper and lower transverse shafts provided with sprocket wheels, an endless carrier having a chain and a series of buckets and arranged on the sprocket wheels, the

front stretch of the endless carrier being disposed exteriorly of the casing and the shelf being interposed between the front stretch and the casing, an intermediate transverse shaft j ournaled in the bearings of the shelf, a longitudinal shaft arranged at one side of the casing, gears connecting the longitudinal shaft with the upper transverse shaft and with one end of the intermediate shaft, and a pulley mounted on the other end of the intermediate shaft.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I-have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM POLIS. Witnesses:

G. A. CoLsoN, J. E. FoDNEss. 

